Bruneteau is the unlikely hero for Lake Superior State

Junior defenseman Matt Bruneteau's first career goal gave Lake Superior State its first sweep of the season and moved them into fifth place in the CCHA with a 3-1 win over Northern Michigan.

PETER PIETRANGELO

SAULT STE. MARIE — A Lake Superior State hockey player jumped to catch a loose puck in front of the Northern Michigan goal, caught it, dropped it between the circles, settled it, turned around and shot it past the goaltender for the game-winning goal in the second period. The goal gave the Lakers their first sweep of the season and moved them into fifth place in the CCHA with a 3-1 win.The goal was scored by junior defenseman Matt Bruneteau, who had not yet scored a goal in 90 games as a Laker, who hadn't scored a goal in a competitive game since Dec. 18, 2009 playing for the Lincoln Stars of the USHL, who hadn't scored a game-winning goal since he began playing junior hockey. To say he was an unlikely hero would be an understatement."We've been talking about the D going aggressive and trying to get up there, and obviously it's not something I do too often," Bruneteau said. "I think the puck went off the goalie somewhere, and I think I was the only guy who saw it go up there and just grabbed it and was able to swat it in there." That's all there is to it apparently."Well, I'm always a little surprised when I score a goal," he said.Bruneteau is a defensive and shot-blocking specialist for the Lakers and hasn't missed a game since his freshman year, despite having just 10 career points (his goal was his first point of the season). His play earns high praise from Lakers coach Jim Roque. "He's the toughest kid I've ever coached," Roque said of the walk-on turned assistant captain. "He's so tough, man, hard-nosed, battles, you can hear the guys in there, they love him. He blocks shots, he had a shot the other night where he just dove in front of the thing, and that's awesome. "Now he's gonna bust my chops that he's gotta be on the power play now."Not only did he score the game-winning goal, he helped guide the penalty kill to a perfect weekend, shutting out the Wildcats in seven power-plays Satu­rday and five on Friday. "We decided about a month ago to play a little softer at the top so our D can be a little more aggressive," Roque said about the penalty kill."We've been doing the same thing all year, it's just beginning to click a lot more now," Bruneteau said. "Guys are just finding their niche right now and we're being more aggressive." Northern Michigan (6-10-3, 2-9-3-1) fell into a tie with Bowling Green for last place, with the Falcons having two games in hand on the Wildcats.The Lakers also got their power play in gear this weekend with four power-play goals, two each night. Chris Ciotti gave the Lakers a 1-0 lead 4 minutes, 1 second into the game when he banged home a rebound off a Zach Sternberg shot that hit the post. "I just want the puck to the net. Just get it down there and whack away," Roque said. "I thought when we were getting too cute and trying to make plays we weren't effective. I think in the last two weeks, Nick (McParland)'s done a good job, Sterny, Czuczman, getting pucks on the net." Jake Baker tied the game for the Wildcats on a delayed penalty with 1:41 left in the first period. Bruneteau scored at the 9:40 mark of the second, and McParland scored a power-play goal on a cross-ice pass from Domenic Monardo in the third period. The Lakers are 7 of 17 on the power play in their last four games to boost their percentage to 20.5 percent, ranked 12th in the nation. Kevin Murdock stopped 22 saves for the win. The Lakers outshot the Wildcats 37-23, and Jared Coreau had 34 saves for NMU.